Chapter 7, Bertolt Brecht: Heart of Ice Summary and Analysis

Bertolt Brecht was a playwright who created the propaganda play for the state- subsidized theaters. He faithfully served the Communist Party. Brecht first became a literary figure in 1919. Spartakus was his first successful play in 1922 winning him the Kleist Prize for the best young dramatist. He brought the sweaty, violent atmosphere of a sport stadium to the stage and wanted the stage to appear crude.

Brecht's first Marxist work was Die Massnahme and was produced in 1930. He was involved in other political art forms whose purpose was to educate people. He excelled at staging and developed many stage inventions that passed to the left-wing theater.

Brecht left Germany when Hitler came to power. He traveled to several different countries. In the late-1930s he wrote the Life of Galileo, The Trail...